Friends of the EBT Fundraising Campaign

[Anonymous]

To mark this fourth year of our campaign, we will provide one of our full-color, authorized reproductions of this original John H. Coker painting to acknowledge each tax-deductible contribution of $50 or more which we receive before August 31, 2005. The resources we obtain during this campaign will be used for the following purposes:

* To support our restoration program, which currently incorporates work at Robertsdale and Rockhill Furnace
* To perform the repairs and improvements needed to set up our car restoration shop in the EBT paint shop building in Rockhill Furnace, where we can work on our historic EBT passenger cars and other equipment
* To support further development of our museum and its collections
* To retire debt we assumed for the first phase of our rehabilitation of the old Robertsdale post office and to "bring home" East Broad Top Railroad passenger cars 18 and 29

For more information about the goals of this campaign, we invite you to visit our Internet web site. All contributions (please make checks payable to Friends of the East Broad Top or FEBT) should be mailed to the following address:

Friends of the East Broad Top
Restoration Fund Treasurer
513 Shady Avenue, No. 12
Pittsburgh PA 15206

John H. Coker was a brakeman, fireman, and engineer on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad and the Durango & Silverton Railroad before becoming a full-time painter.

His work appears frequently on book jackets and the covers of railroad and railroad modeling magazines. He has been a member of Friends of the East Broad Top since 1995. We are also grateful to the East Broad Top Railroad for the cooperation extended to us for our use of reproductions of this painting as part of our fund-raising campaign.

Friends of the East Broad Top, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational and historical society dedicated to the preservation and restoration of the East Broad Top Railroad. Friends of the East Broad Top is not affiliated with the East Broad Top Railroad & Coal Co.

About Friends of the East Broad Top

Friends of the East Broad Top (FEBT) was organized in 1983 by persons interested in the history, preservation, and restoration of the East Broad Top Railroad (EBT). FEBT's nonprofit, tax-exempt status was recognized by the US Internal Revenue Service in 1984 and 1986. Currently FEBT has approximately 900 members, who reside throughout the United States and in several foreign countries. In addition over 100 other individuals and organizations receive FEBT mailings on a reciprocal or complimentary basis.

Among its activities FEBT publishes a magazine devoted to the history and heritage of the EBT, operates a small museum at the EBT's former southern operating terminus, maintains an active restoration program, and engages in a variety of educational efforts designed to increase public knowledge of and support for the preservation and restoration of the EBT. FEBT is not affiliated with the East Broad Top Railroad and Coal Company.

The Friends of the East Broad Top museum complex is located in Robertsdale, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania. The museum complex consists of two historic buildings on the west side of Robertsdale's Main Street (Pennsylvania Highway 913) at the crossing of the tracks of the East Broad Top Railroad: the EBT depot and the old post office. The focus of our museum is the employees of the railroad and their lives and work. In 2005 the FEBT museum will be open on weekends from June to Labor Day and on the Columbus Day holiday weekend in October; the usual hours are 10 am to 5 pm Saturdays and 1 to 5 pm Sundays.

Acknowledgment of Donations

Each donation we receive will be acknowledged in writing by the treasurer of our restoration fund. In addition, at least once each calendar year we will publish a list of all contributors to our fund-raising campaign. The following categories will be used to recognize the cumulative amount of the donations received from each contributor during the campaign: brakeman, $100.00 to $199.99; fireman, $200.00 to $499.99; engineer, $500.00 to $999.99; conductor, $1,000.00 to $1,999.99; weighmaster, $2,000.00 to $4,999.99; trainmaster, $5,000.00 to $9,999.99; and general superintendent, $10,000.00 or more. (Because his primary job was to weigh the hoppers loaded with coal on the adjacent track scales, the title of the station master at Robertsdale was "weighmaster." On the EBT the trainmaster dispatched and supervised all train movements.)

Corporate Matching of Donations

Friends of the East Broad Top qualifies for matching donations from many employers. We will be happy to provide the necessary information if your employer has such a corporate program to match charitable donations made by its employees and retirees. In recent years, for example, we have received such matching contributions from American Express, Boeing, BP, Computer Associates, Corning, Honeywell International, IBM, Microsoft, National Starch and Chemical, Saint-Gobain, SBC, Thomson-West, Tyco, and Verizon.

Designated Gifts and Bequests

We will gladly discuss with you arrangements for donations or gifts you would like to dedicate to a particular FEBT project or program. Our legal advisor can also supply information about including FEBT in your will.

For More Information

For more information about FEBT, our current fund-raising campaign, our museum, our restoration and education programs, or membership, please visit our Internet web site www.febt.org. Membership information can also be obtained by contacting our membership office by e-mail at [e-mail] or by telephone at [phone].

[TomDiehl]

I have worked with the FEBT Restoration Crew at Rockhill Furnace and I must say, the work we have accomplished so far is unbelievable. For several years before we came to agreement with the EBT Management, I visited regularly and was dismayed at the continuing deterioration of the entire property. After the first two years on the job, the difference in the railroad's physical plant was showing that even a crew of determined volunteers can make a big difference. To quote our restoration director, Lee Rainey, "We went from hospice care of the railroad buildings to showing a true improvement." We have them much more stable and even usable for their original purpose. There is much more work to be done. Money raised through this campaign buys us the materials and tools we need to do this very much needed work. Come to the railroad and see our progress. Join the FEBT and join us for a work session.